Butternut Squash Soup

Granted, you can buy good boxed butternut squash soup ready-made at Trader Joe's, but it's almost as easy to make your own. This recipe requires about 2-3 minutes of active working time and can be tailored a few different ways according to your own tastes (see note below). The toughest part of the recipe is cutting the squash in half. Use your biggest, sharpest knife and be very, very careful. Note: If you're vegetarian or vegan, just substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

VegetarianGluten FreeLow CarbLow FatVegan

Ingredients

1 medium-large butternut squash (about 3-4 cups of cooked squash)

1 Tbsp olive oil

3-4 cups of chicken broth or vegetable broth (use as many cups of broth as cups of cooked squash)

1/2 tsp salt (adjust according to saltiness of broth)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2) Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scooping out the seeds and strings. Oil each half and place face down on baking sheet. Cook until soft when pierced with knife. Depending on size of squash, cooking time will be roughly 30-50 minutes. 3) Scoop out the cooked squash. Add the squash and other ingredients to a blender, pureeing till smooth. 4) Pour into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, never boiling.

Additional Notes

For a Curried Butternut Squash Soup: substitute 1 cup light coconut milk for 1 cup of the broth substitute 1/2 tsp curry powder for the nutmeg Note: This is a great way to get creaminess without any dairy products.